Try free for 30 days

  • Rule Number Two

  • Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital
  • By: Heidi Squier Kraft
  • Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Rule Number Two cover art

Rule Number Two

By: Heidi Squier Kraft
Pre-order: Free with 30-day trial

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pre-order for $26.81

Pre-order for $26.81

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

When Lieutenant Commander Heidi Kraft's twin son and daughter were fifteen months old, she was deployed to Iraq. A clinical psychologist in the US Navy, Kraft's job was to uncover the wounds of war that a surgeon would never see. She put away thoughts of her children back home, acclimated to the sound of incoming rockets, and learned how to listen to the most traumatic stories a war zone has to offer.

One of the toughest lessons of her deployment was perfectly articulated by the TV show M*A*S*H: "There are two rules of war. Rule number one is that young men die. Rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one." Some Marines, Kraft realized, and even some of their doctors, would be damaged by war in ways she could not repair. And sometimes, people were repaired in ways she never expected.

Rule Number Two is a powerful firsthand account of providing comfort admidst the chaos of war, and of what it takes to endure.

©2007 Heidi Squier Kraft (P)2024 Little, Brown & Company

Critic Reviews

"Every American needs to read this."—General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Ret), former commander of U.S. Central Command

"One of the most amazing books I have ever read..."—Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, USA (Ret), author of On Killing and On Combat
"A necessary but uncomfortable book for anyone wishing to understand."—Jay Freeman, Booklist

What listeners say about Rule Number Two

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.